May Ball Budgeting & Financial Planning

Financial mismanagement is the most common reason May Balls fail. Not bad entertainment, not poor marketing, not even bad weather - it is running out of money. This guide walks you through building a budget that works, pricing tickets appropriately, and managing the cash flow challenges that are unique to student-run events.

Revenue Sources

A May Ball's revenue typically comes from three sources, in roughly this order of importance:

Ticket Sales (80-90% of revenue)

This is the overwhelming majority of your income. Everything else is supplementary. Your budget must be viable on ticket revenue alone - treat sponsorship and bar surplus as upside, not as money you are counting on.

Calculate your ticket revenue as: (number of tickets at each tier) × (price at that tier). Be conservative. Assume you will sell 90% of capacity rather than 100%. Factor in bursary tickets that may be discounted or free. Account for any complimentary tickets for sponsors, performers, or college staff.

Sponsorship (5-15% of revenue)

Sponsorship income varies enormously depending on your ball's prestige, your sponsorship officer's tenacity, and market conditions. The most common sponsorship models are:

• Cash sponsorship: A company pays a fixed amount in exchange for branding, mentions, and sometimes a presence at the event. Typical ranges are £500 to £5,000 per sponsor, with headline sponsors occasionally going higher for the most prestigious balls.
• In-kind sponsorship: A company provides products or services instead of cash. This is common for drinks brands (providing free alcohol in exchange for exclusivity), car companies (displaying a vehicle), and fashion brands. The value to your budget is the cost you would otherwise have paid.
• Contra deals: You provide something (advertising, tickets, access to your audience) in exchange for a discounted rate on services you need. This is particularly effective with production companies and entertainment agents.

Bar Sales Surplus (0-5% of revenue)

Some balls make a small profit on bar sales. Others break even or subsidise drinks to keep guests happy. Do not rely on bar surplus in your budget planning. If it materialises, treat it as a bonus. The margin on drinks at a ball is typically thin after you account for staff, glassware hire, and wastage.

Three Budget Scales

Cambridge events fall into roughly three categories. Understanding where your event sits helps set realistic expectations.

Garden Party / Soiree: £20,000 - £40,000

Typically 200-400 guests at £60-£100 per ticket. These events are simpler affairs - perhaps a single stage, a few food stalls, and a bar in the college bar or a small marquee. Entertainment is largely student acts with perhaps one professional DJ or band. Security is minimal. Production costs are low because you are mostly using existing college infrastructure. This is an excellent model for smaller colleges or first-time events testing the water.

June Event: £50,000 - £80,000

Typically 400-800 guests at £100-£150 per ticket. A step up in ambition: multiple stages, a proper food offering (perhaps a formal dining option alongside street food), professional entertainment supplemented by student acts, and more substantial production with hired lighting and sound. Security is professional but not overwhelming. This is the sweet spot for many mid-sized colleges - ambitious enough to be memorable, manageable enough that the committee is not overwhelmed.

Full May Ball: £150,000 - £250,000+

Typically 1,000-2,000+ guests at £180-£350 per ticket. This is the full experience: multiple stages with professional headliners, formal dining in a marquee, extensive theming and decorations, professional production with rigging, pyrotechnics, and elaborate lighting, a full security operation with dozens of SIA-licensed staff, and entertainment running from early evening through to sunrise. The production and logistics rival those of a small music festival. Only a handful of colleges run balls at this scale.

Typical Cost Breakdown

While every ball is different, the following percentages provide a useful starting framework:

Note that platform fees are listed under admin. If you are using a ticketing platform that charges 2.9% + 20p per transaction, that alone could represent 3-4% of your total budget for a large ball - money that could go towards an extra act or better food. MayBall.com charges zero fees and zero percentage, which is why we exist.

Ticket Pricing Strategy

Setting the right ticket price is a balancing act between three competing pressures: generating enough revenue to cover your costs, keeping prices accessible enough that people can actually attend, and positioning your event relative to competing balls.

Internal vs External vs Alumni

Most balls charge different prices for college members ("internal"), non-members ("external"), and alumni. A typical structure might be:

• Internal: Your base price. This is what college members pay. It should be as accessible as possible - these are your core audience and future committee members.
• External: Typically £20-£50 more than internal. External guests are coming because they want to, not because it is their college - they have a higher willingness to pay, and the premium reflects the fact that you are offering them something their own college may not.
• Alumni: Often priced at or above external rates. Alumni tend to have higher incomes and strong nostalgia-driven willingness to pay. Some balls offer a "dining upgrade" for alumni at a significant premium, which can be very profitable.

Dining Upgrades

If your ball includes a formal dining option, consider offering it as a separate upgrade rather than bundling it into the base ticket price. This lets non-diners attend at a lower price point while allowing diners to pay for the premium experience. Dining upgrades of £30-£80 are common and can significantly improve your revenue per head.

VAT Implications

This is an area where many committees get caught out. The VAT treatment of May Ball tickets depends on how your ball is structured legally:

• If your ball is run through the college (which is common), the college's VAT registration status applies. Most Cambridge colleges are VAT-registered, which means ticket sales may be subject to VAT. This has a direct impact on your budget - if your tickets are £200 including VAT, you are actually receiving approximately £167 per ticket after VAT is remitted.
• If your ball operates as an independent entity (less common but not unheard of), you may be below the VAT registration threshold. Consult with your college bursar.
• Always discuss VAT with your college bursar and/or the college's accountant before setting ticket prices. Getting this wrong can create a budget hole of 20% of your ticket revenue.

Working with College Bursars and Treasurers

Your college bursar is a critical ally. They control the financial infrastructure through which your ball operates, and they have institutional experience that far exceeds any student committee's. Tips for a productive relationship:

• Be transparent. Share your full budget early. Bursars who are surprised by costs are bursars who say no.
• Meet regularly. Monthly check-ins with the bursar or their delegate keep everyone aligned and prevent surprises.
• Understand their constraints. Bursars are responsible to the college, not to your committee. They may impose conditions on spending, require sign-off on large purchases, or insist on using particular suppliers. Work within their framework rather than fighting it.
• Deliver your accounts promptly after the ball. A committee that hands over clean, complete accounts builds trust for future years. A committee that takes months to settle accounts makes life harder for their successors.

Contingency Planning

Things will go wrong. Your budget needs to absorb those shocks without collapsing. Key areas to plan for:

• Weather: Rain on the night can destroy outdoor entertainment and decorations. Budget for weatherproofing - additional marquee sides, covered walkways, and waterproof staging. Some committees take out event cancellation insurance, which typically costs 2-5% of the insured amount and covers extreme weather, terrorism, and similar force majeure events.
• Supplier cancellations: If a headline act cancels three weeks before the ball, can you afford a replacement? If a caterer goes under, can you pivot? Having contingency budget and backup supplier relationships is essential.
• Under-selling: If you sell 80% of tickets instead of 95%, does your budget still work? Run sensitivity analysis on your revenue assumptions. If your ball is only viable at 98% capacity, your budget is too tight.

Cash Flow Management

Cash flow - the timing of when money comes in versus when it goes out - is one of the trickiest aspects of ball finance. The typical pattern looks like this:

• Michaelmas term: Minimal revenue (perhaps early sponsorship), but deposits are due for entertainment, venues, and production companies. You may need to draw on reserves from the previous year's ball or request an advance from the college.
• January - February: Internal ticket sales begin. The first significant revenue arrives, but large invoices are also landing for entertainment and caterers.
• March - April: External and alumni ticket sales provide the bulk of revenue. This is when cash flow typically turns positive.
• May - June: Final supplier payments are due, often with large balances becoming payable in the weeks before the event. Make sure you have the cash to cover these without waiting for final ticket sales.
• Post-ball: Some suppliers invoice after the event. Bar sales revenue may arrive. Final reconciliation happens over the following weeks.

The key lesson: do not commit to spending money you do not yet have. Use a cash flow forecast - a simple spreadsheet showing inflows and outflows by month - to make sure you never hit a point where you cannot pay your bills.

Post-Ball Accounting

After the ball, the Treasurer's final task is producing a complete set of accounts. This document should include:

• Total revenue by category (ticket types, sponsorship, bar, other)
• Total expenditure by category, compared against the original budget
• A list of all suppliers with what was paid and whether you would recommend them
• Net surplus or deficit
• Any outstanding payments or receivables
• Notes on any significant variances from the budget, with explanations

This document serves three purposes: it satisfies your accountability to the college, it provides the incoming committee with realistic cost benchmarks, and it creates an institutional record that prevents the same financial mistakes from being repeated year after year.